


Exposure

by Attack_on_mgl



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Childhood Trauma, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Violence, Panic Attacks, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 04:45:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16906344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Attack_on_mgl/pseuds/Attack_on_mgl
Summary: Instead of going to see Gordon, Chas listens to Aaron's wishes and tries to go back to her normal routine. This proves a struggle, however, when the one man she wants nothing to do with is sat at the bar, and has the nerve to play innocent.





	1. 1

Chas felt her heart skip a beat.

Her eyes locked on the man at at the bar, pint in hand as he chatted away innocently to Marlon.

The man who she once loved.

Her son's father.

Her son's  _rapist_.

Slowly, but surely, she managed to force herself to make her presence known, strolling up to the bar with a soft, but bitter smile. They were on a break, after all. "What's got you so eager to come back, then? Thought we'd split." Her tone was low, almost spiteful, as she pursued her lips.

Gordon laughed, shaking his head somewhat mockingly. "What can I say? Can't blame me for cracking first, ya know?" A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "Is that a problem? I thought you'd be happy."

"You said you were going to stay away because of Aaron." She reminded bluntly. "I don't think he'd like that you're here."

The brunet quirked a brow. "He's not a child, Chas. He can't ruin our relationship because of his selfishness."

"He's not being selfish, I understand that now." Chas made sure to quieten down slightly, as the pub wasn't that full, and anyone could be listening in. "He's scared… of  _you_."

She watched as his expression faltered, switching for cocky to scarily serious.

"What's he said." It was more of a demand than a question, Chas picking up on his slight raise of volume. "Chas, what's he said–"

"Enough." She chewed her lip, still staring him down. "He's said plenty."

"Whatever he's said, he's lying."

Chas couldn't help but scoff at the excuse. "You don't even know what he's said–"

"I've got Robert on my case already, I don't need you." He spat. "D'you know how bad that makes me look?"

"I don't care." She whispered coldly. "All I care about is keeping my boy safe; away from you."

Gordon sighed, before finishing off his pint. A smirk playing on his lips teasingly as he called out. "Pour us another, will ya, Mar–?"

His words were cut short as Chas's fist collided with his face in one swift motion, causing him to stumble back, barely able to keep his balance.

Everyone had frozen.

"What the hell was that for?!" He yelled, fully aware of his nosebleed.

Chas panted as she slowly dropped her fist, seething. Marlon was frozen, eyes flicking between the two in shock. Ross had nearly choked on his pint, the gobsmacked " _holy fuck_ " escaping his lips as Finn shot him a dirty, but still concerned glance.  
"That," She breathed, heart thumping loudly in her chest. "That is for all times my son couldn't fight back."

"He's _our_ son–!"

"No he's not!" She was now shouting, voice broken as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She knew she was getting too worked up, but she needed to let out all her suppressed anger and guilt. "He's not our son, and he's definitely not yours! He's  _my_  son! My boy, my precious little boy; the boy who  _you_ hurt!"

Gordon ran his tongue over his teeth, jaw clenched uncomfortably. His stare remained locked with Chas', hyper-aware of the stunned glances. He was the centre of attention, and for all the wrong reasons. He swallowed thickly. He had no words. "Chas, he was misbehaving, you know that–!"

"That doesn't mean you had to rape him!"

And then the tears fell.

She could here people gasping, muttering as their breath hitched.

Aside from her angered, agitated breaths, it was silent.

But the silence was short lived when Adam and Aaron walked in, laughing to themselves.  
She watched Aaron pause, taking in the lack of noise, and then taking in the sight of his father… and then all the people staring at him. Ross grimaced upon making eye contact, uncharacteristically quiet and shifty. "Is there a problem…?" He asked, the corners of his mouth curling up as he gave a nervous smile, but in the back of his mind he knew there was.

"No one's died, have they?" Adam joked, but soon fell silent. This was serious. "Yo… what's happened?"

Chas inhaled and exhaled heavily, before harshly wiping her eyes with her hand. "Aaron… I-I'm so sorry…" More tears ran down her cheeks as her son shook his head slowly in disbelief.

Adam turned to look at his best friend, brows narrowed, concerned. "Is there something I should know–?"

"Can… Can you go, please?" Aaron whispered, voice barely audible. "Family matter."

"Mate–"

"Adam, go." He repeated, more sternly this time. "I'll catch up in five, or something." Without another word, but only an unsure glance, Adam nodded and walked out, the door closing behind him with a soft thump. As soon he was out of ear shot the brunet flicked his stare anxiously back on his mother. "…Please tell me you didn't."

Chas physically tensed, hoarsely whispering. "I'm sorry."


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron struggles to cope with the situation, but comes to a regretable decision nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up; Gordon is a lot more vile in this than he was in the soap.

Aaron swallowed thickly.

His eyes shifted to the man at at the bar, teeth gritted as he wiped his nose with his hand for a second time

The man who he once adored.

His father.

His  _rapist._

Anxiously he chanced a glance at everyone, already finding that a struggle. Finn just watched him expectantly, whilst Ross had his stare fixed solely on Gordon, something that Aaron inwardly rejoiced for. Chas was a whole different story, however. Tears falling silently down her face as she sniffed, not daring to speak.

The anger in Marlon's voice was heard loud and clear, being the only person willing to talk. "I suggest you leave."

And then it all went downhill.

"I've done nothing wrong!" Gordon snapped, before shooting his son a glare. "For god's sake, Aaron!" He cried. "Stop lying!"

Aaron flinched, instinctively jolting his head to the side and sucking in a sharp breath. "I–" He grimaced, hating how pathetic he sounded. His head hurt immensely; he was completely torn on what to say.

He couldn't say he lied.

He couldn't say it was true, either.

"You're scaring him!" Chas' shout was barely audible.

_You're scaring him._

Why did she have to say that? It's not like he's a fucking child.

A fucking _victim_.

Amidst his mental trauma he shot the woman a glare, eyes glistening with tears. "Mum, stop it." He growled, the pain in his voice clear as day. He couldn't do this. He hated this so much. It was obvious that Finn and Ross felt out of place, awkward… _uncomfortable_ , but couldn't bring themselves to actually get up and leave. The fact that Chas whispered to Marlon "not to hurt him" and "not to try anything", fuelled his anger to a greater extent, fists clenching at his sides.

He hated this so much.

"Face it, son." Gordon had quietened. "You're a liar."

"You're a _paedophile_." Aaron regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, especially after seeing his father's face fall instantly. He knew that face all too well. He drew in a shuddered, shaky breath, failing to blink back the tears as they slipped from his eyes. "Admit it."

His stare was locked with Gordon's, but he could take a pretty good guess at everyone's reactions.

He heard Finn gasp, mutter something to presumably Ross, and then quieten down again.

Chas' "oh my god" under her breath was deafening in the silence, and she once again forced Marlon back.

Gordon only stared at him, jaw clenched. The man was physically vibrating with agitation, and although he wouldn't admit it, it scared Aaron to death. "You need help, son." He spoke calmly, yet patronisingly.

Aaron shook his head frantically, before chancing a step-or-two forwards, forcing back his nerves as he leant in, inches away from his father's face. "I'm not the one that raped his eight year old son." It was low, bitter, and everything Aaron could've hoped for as he stepped back, watching the older man coldly. The feel of Gordon's eyes raking up and down his body sent chills down his spine, trying to ignore that all too familiar glint they held.

He waited for the "stop lying" to be repeated again, but to no avail. Instead, Gordon was the one to step forwards, his breath hot on Aaron's skin as he fought the urge to curl in on himself. "You ought to watch what you say."

"I'm not lying–"

"You know what happens when you're naughty." It was barely a whisper, but Aaron heard every word. His eyes widened as he hastily met his father's gaze, eyes glazing over as he swallowed.

He was frozen, completely stunned, head pounding.

It was a empty threat; he knew that.

He also knew what Gordon was capable of, so he couldn't ignore it.

"What happens when I'm naughty?" Aaron made sure to raise his voice so everyone could hear, just to frustrate him. "Tell them, Dad." He swallowed down the lump in his throat, a fresh load of tears pooling in his eyes. "Tell them how you disipline me–"

His words were cut short as Gordon didn't fail to disappoint.

In fact, he completely succeeded.

It happened so fast.

Gordon's hands going South, reaching round and grabbing Aaron by the ass, tugging him closer as he slipped his tongue down his son's throat, Chas' horrified screams gladly ignored.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated!  
> Disclaimer: This fic was originally posted on fanfiction.net but the Emmerdale fandom is a lot more active over here, so I'll be posting my Emmerdale fics on here instead :) that being said, the first few chapters will come out pretty fast, as they are already edited and good to go, so hopefully that's alright.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon faces the consequences of his actions at the hands of Ross

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit guys
> 
> This hasn't even been up for a full day and I'm so grateful for the attention it's gotten! I would've thought that the Abuse Storyline wasn't gonna be that popular considering it was a couple years back, but apparently not! Tbh the Affair Era and the Abuse SL are my favourites of Aaron's(and Robert's) so I'm really happy you're all enjoying this :)

"Tell them, Dad."

Ross could see the odd look on Gordon's face, as if the man was mentally going through his next actions carefully. Something was going to happen; he could feel it. So when Gordon cut Aaron off and tugged him pervertedly into a kiss, he was on his feet in seconds. "Woah! Woah! Woah!" He didn't care if he hurt Aaron when he grabbed him by the arm and yanked him backwards, as long as he separated them as quickly as possible. "You need to back off!" The mechanic shouted, pointing a finger inches away from Gordon's chest.

His eyes shifted for a brief second onto the two behind the bar, expecting Marlon to have kicked Gordon's head in by now. Instead it was him holding Chas back, letting her latch onto his arm as she sobbed loudly, shouting the occasional death threat at her ex husband. Speaking of; the man himself kept his darkened eyes locked with Ross', threatening him silently, as if daring him to try something.

"You don't touch up your own fucking son!" Ross growled, arm flying out and gesturing to whatever was going on behind him. All he could hear was Finn whispering desperate nonsense, "Aaron, come here" "Move, please" and god knows what else. Despite the rambling, it did encourage Ross to look curiously to his right, the pit in his stomach getting worse. Aaron was completely frozen; his only movements after being pulled off Gordon being a few staggered steps to the side, lips wet and parted as he panted heavily, wide eyes locked on his attacker fearfully. The brunet was utterly stunned and no one dared to touch him in fear of him crumplingly on the spot. Even Chas' wails didn't knock him out of it.

He was eerily quiet, to say the least.

"Look what you've done to him." He spat, lowering his tone darkly. "Then again, I don't think you really care." He didn't miss the way Gordon's jaw clenched, and he somewhat dared to push the man's buttons even more. "All you care about is getting in your son's pants, you incestuous little creep–"

Gordon's fist collided harshly with his face, splitting his lip and sending him stumbling backwards. Ross cursed loudly at the sudden attack, wasting no time in returning the favour as he shot back up and swung a clean right hook, watching coldly as Gordon lost his footing and hit his head on the side of the bar, collapsing in an unconscious heap between the bar stools.

It took a moment for it to sink in before anyone did anything, silently waiting to see if the man would abruptly stand up and smack Ross again.

But nothing happened.

The first thing Ross did was tentively crouch down and reluctantly check for a pulse, somewhat relieved to know that Gordon wasn't dead; not that he would've cared. He'd honestly be proud if he was guilty of the manslaughter of a paedophilic rapist. The main thing on his mind wasn't that, however. He wasn't sure how much time they would have before he woke up.

"He's alive." He declared, standing up risking to meet their eyes. Aaron's was still focused on his dad, unfortunately.

"Oh my god, Aaron." He barely noticed Chas bolting round the bar and brushing past him, eyes only for her son as she embraced him tightly. It was obvious she was fighting the urge to either vomit or scream, or both; shit, everyone was. Aaron physically tensed at first, the hug not unexpected but not necessarily wanted, but soon gave in as his shaking hands latched onto the back of her top and his head buried into her neck, muffled sobs and apologetic whimpers filling the silence.

The idea that Aaron was apologizing for this was extremely unsettling, and Ross prided himself on usually being able to ignore sensetive topics and get on with his life. But this… this was completely insane.

"Help me move him, will ya?"

Ross blinked, his eyes eventually focusing on the tall man in front of him, apparently unaware of people's movements now. Maybe Gordon's punch shook him more than he'd initially thought. Marlon watched him in slight concern and gestured to the piece of shit laying on the floor slumped against the stools, a flash of urgency in his eyes that told Ross to snap out of it. The younger man nodded firmly, before he and Marlon manoeuvred Gordon into the nearest booth, Marlon muttering "just chuck him in there" under his breath, his words confusing Ross as to whether it was a joke or an actual instruction. In the end, the chef had gladly sat himself down next to the unconscious brunet, leaving Ross to his own devices.

Chas and Aaron had moved to sit on the chairs at the opposite end of the pub to Gordon, the eldest of the two clutching her son's hands in her own as his head rested tiredly on her shoulder, sniffing every so often. He felt like he was intruding big-time, but couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to stay. Aaron's childhood secret was clearly something he'd wanted to keep hidden, considering he'd sent Adam away after the realisation hit him. Adam was his best friend and he didn't want him in on his secret.

But yet here Ross was; a mutual of Aaron's that shared a sense of mutual loathing with him, accidentally hearing about the horror that was his childhood. He felt almost unworthy of knowing such information.

"You… You need to sort your face out." Finn swallowed, approaching him hesitantly. Ross could see the tears pooling in his eyes, the stiffness of his jaw, the shakiness in his voice. He remembered when Finn had been left for dead in that car that one time, resulting in the drug scare at the hospital… the suspicion of assault. Although it was only a suspicion, and turned out to be false, he could tell that Finn was now thinking of that time too, and if he hadn't been as lucky. "He was eight…" Finn whispered hoarsely, his words coming out in more of a pained whine than anything else.

Ross grimaced. _Eight_. He couldn't remember what he was doing when he was eight; it definitely wasn't being held down in bed by his dad, that was for sure. His gut twisted uncomfortably. "Yeah."

"Imagine _that_?"

The elder Barton glanced over his brother's shoulder, Chas' stare locked on them as she watched. He swallowed thickly. "I can't. A-And you shouldn't either." His hand came up to squeeze Finn's shoulder reassuringly, earning a small, sad smile from the latter who nodded.

Finn sucked in a deep breath as he turned around slowly, eyes resting pitifully on the two Dingles. Aaron's gaze was now on him as apposed to the floor, blank and lost and undeniably shameful. It was sickening. Finn opened his mouth to speak, but Aaron beat him too it.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, sitting up and grimacing. "I'm sorry for all of this." Chas chewed her lip and tightened her grip on her son's arm, clearly too exhausted to keep repeating herself.

Finn narrowed his brows. "You… Y-You're apologizing? Aaron, what are you apologizing for?" His words were full of confusion, yet held a sense of curiosity nonetheless, a few tears streaming down his face. "Thi-This isn't your fault."

"He hurt you."

Ross shuddered. He'd forgotten about his lip, only now that he thought about it did he realise how badly it stung, as well as the metallic taste that entered his mouth whenever he spoke. "He hurt you a lot worse." He avoided the subject.

Aaron stared at him blankly for moment, before sniffing. It was unsettling to see him like this, so out of character. In a matter of seconds Gordon had reduced his son to a trembling, vulnerable mess, with little to no sympathy.

The moment was burned permanently in his brain. The way Gordon had locked their lips together, tongue and all, all the while grabbing at Aaron's ass like some lust-driven, horny teenager.

He'd have to live with that memory for as long as it stayed. Then again, Aaron had been subjected to so much worse.

"Were there other times?" He didn't even realise what he'd said until the words left his mouth, curiosity getting the better of him. It seemed like Gordon knew what he was doing when he grabbed Aaron, too rehearsed, as if he knew the perfect places to touch in order to scare him the most.

"Yeah."

He heard Marlon grunt in discomfort, and watched as Finn ran a shaky hand through his hair and braced himself against the bar, hands gripping the edge tightly as he breathed. "I was ten, and… and then twelve, and then he tried again a few years later but I got away." Aaron sounded so fucking calm and it honestly frightened him.

"…I'm sorry." Ross muttered, closing his eyes and sucking in a deep breath. "I'm so fucking sorry, mate."

"Yeah, well, we all are." Chas agreed miserably. She'd obviously already heard this, so her grounded attitude was more than okay.

Ross pursed his lips into a small, understanding smile, gald to see that she wasn't ripping chunks out of him. This whole situation was kind of her fault, though he would never admit that. She didn't deserve the aggro.

"D'you want some water?" Finn asked, not really directed at anyone in particular. Both Chas and Aaron nodded, the elder of the two still rubbing comfortingly up the male's arm in a poor effort to stop him shaking.

"Marlon," She spoke hoarsely. "Could you close up, please? Just in case." The chef was up in an instant, trusting that Ross would swiftly take his place next to the unconscious man still sat awkwardlly in the booth.

Ross looked Gordon up and down, silent.

He really hoped he was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
